Monday, November 14, 2011

week four - a little late due to an actual vacation

This post was delayed because I took the opportunity of a family-less weekend to head up to Quadra Island for a few days of enforced relaxation. Enforced, because it was pouring with rain on Saturday. I had planned to do a nice long hike, but instead I struggled out in all my rain gear for a short-ish walk with the dog, and then spent the rest of the day knitting. Sunday was nice enough so we got a hike in, but not as long a one as I would have liked. Oh well. It was quiet and peaceful and that was nice. And as I was in a self-catering cottage, food wasn't an issue. I just hauled the other half of my bear stew out of the freezer and took that.

My lovely hosts, though, gave me an apple from their orchard, and as I'd neglected to bring any scurvy-avoidance stuff (ie, frozen blueberries) I did eat it. But I was unable to eat more than a few slices at a time, because it was so intense. Part of that was, I think, that it was a really good apple - but part of it also was that my palate has become so used to blandness that I didn't actually WANT the intense flavour. I think when I finally end my food vacation, it's going to take a few days to come back to normal eating, and it might be wise to end it a day or two ahead of the solstice so I can actually enjoy the traditional solstice feast.

Anyway, folks have been curious about energy levels and sufficient salt intake, so I'll talk about that now. My energy levels, I'm happy to say, are about as good as ever. On my hike yesterday I powered up a hill (they call it a "mountain" on the gulf islands, but... no) that did actually have a bit of snow on top, and it took me only 40 minutes. The information I had was that it was a 2-hour hike, so I feel like my "athletic performance" is still pretty good (but honestly - if you had to take 2 hours to do that, you probably shouldn't be hiking). And I had three really good workouts last week. All of them were in the morning, which is when I normally work out. Previously I'd been trying to work out in the afternoon, usually just after I'd eaten lunch, and I think that was the problem - it's just a low-energy part of my day, naturally. I've been waking up between 6:30 and 7 am without an alarm, after going to bed at 10:30 or so, and that, to me, says I've got plenty of energy.

Salt intake may have been a slight problem. I figured I was getting enough, because of the mineral density of the bone broth that I cooked my meat in, but possibly not. I was experiencing slight foggy-headedness, but it went away when I added a teeny amount of salt to my food before I ate it, so I think that tweak is probably necessary and I'll keep doing it. It'll probably take me another few days to get accustomed to it - even that small amount of salt is vaguely unpleasant at the moment, but it'll make ending the food vacation easier.

And - because this is the question I get asked the most - no, this isn't difficult to stick to in the least. Now that I know my reactions to a tiny bit of salt and the flavour of just an apple, it is not tempting in the least to have even a little nibble of something sweet or highly seasoned. I know it won't be immediately enjoyable, and it may make my later bland food taste even less satisfying, so it's totally not worth it. And while I know this may sound like a miserable state of affairs, it isn't. I'm still very much enjoying the freedom from worrying about what I eat now, what I'm going to eat, when I'm going to get a chance to go grocery shopping, etc. You know how you can look at people lying on the beach, and think "they must be bored out of their skulls"? Well, I'm like one of those people - totally content in my boredom, for the moment. And, as a bonus, I'm losing weight steadily, and nearly all my clothes fit now.